Awesome Nadal too strong for Djokovic

The Spaniard, seeking his fourth straight title in Paris, rarely looked troubled as he romped to a 6-4 6-2 7-6 (7/3) triumph on the Philippe Chatrier Court.

However, credit must go to Djokovic, who rallied in the third set to force the tie-breaker, only for Nadal to step it up again and close out the match after two hours and 49 minutes.

The second seed has been in imperious form at Roland Garros and has not dropped a set on his run to the final, where he will meet either world number one Roger Federer or unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Djokovic ended the first set with more aces and more winners, but Nadal, so it appeared, was happy to sit on his early break, confident it would take a supreme effort from Djokovic to break back.

Nadal ratcheted up his performance in the second set, however, breaking Djokovic in the first game as the winners started to flow. He hit top gear in the fifth game, two supreme down-the-line winners helping him to a 0-40 lead, which turned into a set-clinching second break when Djokovic fired wide.

Djokovic appeared to be a spent force at the start of the third set, his mind seemingly elsewhere as he slipped 0-3 behind.

But, contrary to appearances, he was not done yet, and a break of the Nadal serve for 3-1 brought a gesture to the heavens and a rueful grin from the 21-year-old.

Better was to come from Djokovic, who secured another break to get the set back on serve as some self-belief finally began to permeate his play.

But when the set went to a tie-break there was only going to be one winner, Nadal racing into a 6-0 lead before a brief Djokovic fightback was snuffed out as the reigning champion ended a superb rally with an emphatic smash.